The recent story of the murder - inside the Vatican - of the Swiss
Guard commander, Alois Estermann and his wife - this " moment of madness "
and then equally mad self-destruction by the 23 year old Cedrich Tornay -
apart from shocking us also helps explain why we still read William
Shakespeare 's plays. The oldest human emotions endure through the
centuries - despite all the technical " progress ".
Tornay had received an insufferable blow to his ego from the
commander - a reprimand for a commonplace folly of youth - being
out all night with responsibilities to face the next day.
Tornay notes that his name is omitted from the " honorable
service " list - no ego-boasting medal for him, a young man protecting
Christ's vicar on earth. But Estermann himself the good Pope appoints
commander, a position his humble social status by tradition should
make unattainable. To be humiliated and reprimanded by a low -life,
who just happened to be at the Pope's side on a very evil day when
he was shot by Communist conspirators.
The medieval aspects of the story are also worthy of Shakespeare.
Why must the commander of the Swiss Guard be of noble birth ? What
anachronistic snobbery so near the year 2000 !
And why must the Swiss Guard be all Swiss. Remember that it
was no longer thought terribly important for the Pope himself to
be Italian . Logically -tradition is seldom logical - it is no more
necessary for the pope's Guard to be all Swiss then it is for our
cheese .
Then if LIFE itself were logical there would be no emotional need
for Shakespeare . It would not be " a tale told by an idiot ... "
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Ron